Vivaldi's Gloria

Biography
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and Roman Catholic priest. Born in March 1678 in Venice, Vivaldi's health was problematic as a child. It is now believed that he suffered from asthma, and prevented him from learning to play wind instruments. However he learned to play the violin, and at age fifteen began training for the priesthood. Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating Mass most likely because of his ill health and Vivaldi appeared to withdraw from liturgical duties, saying Mass as a priest only a few times though he remained a member of the priesthood.

In 1711 Vivaldi begin work at Ospedale della Pietà in Venice as Master of Violin. An all-female orphanage, music school and convent Vivaldi composed most of his work whilst there, writing concertos, cantatas and sacred vocal music for them. These sacred works number over sixty and include solo motets and large-scale choral works for soloists, double chorus, and orchestra. Vivaldi had to compose an oratorio or concerto at every feast and teach the orphans both music theory and how to play certain instruments.

Venice in the early 18th century was the cultural centre of Europe, and a visit to the opera was part of the court and social life of the city. Opera houses were however required to close for all important religious festivals, but Venetians still wanted to be entertained. Vivaldi’s all-female orchestras and choirs were legendary sensations, but the girls needed to be protected from noblemen and travellers to the city. To keep them sheltered from the corruption of the visiting public, the choir sang from the upper galleries of the church, hidden behind the patterned grills, which only added to the theatrical sense of drama matched by Vivaldi’s music.

"Those young men in Venice for a stop on the Grand Tour flocked to Vivaldi’s church to hear these mysterious women seen only in silhouette, but sounding like angels."

At the height of his career, Vivaldi received commissions from European nobility and royalty including the French court of Louis XV. Vivaldi's Opus 9, "La cetra" was dedicated to Emperor Charles VI. He gave Vivaldi the title of knight, a gold medal and an invitation to Vienna. It is also likely that Vivaldi went to Vienna to stage operas, especially as he took up residence near the Kärntnertortheater. However, shortly after his arrival in Vienna in 1741 Charles VI died, which left the composer without any royal protection or a steady source of income. Having squandered his fortune Vivaldi became impoverished and died during a pauper in July 1741, aged 63.

Gloria in D
Vivaldi's  Gloria in D is probably one of his best known sacred works, but it also reflects Vivaldi’s
other skill as an opera composer which he regarded as a distraction from his day job at the Pieta.

The English Reformation and its impact on liturgy and music

A brief discussion on the impact of religious change in sixteenth century England on church music and liturgy, from a layman's 21st Century perspective!

The Reformation is a hugely misunderstood and underestimated period of flux in Europe and beyond over the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. I have long been intrigued by the way religion not only underpinned society at every level during the Early Modern period, but how those influences are still relevant today. Having studied this period of history in depth at university I believe there are two significant themes of the English Reformation and its impact on liturgy and music:-

1) The Reformation was not an event which occurred at a single point in time.

The Reformation was not an event, it was more an evolutionary phase which spread out from Henry's break with Rome in 1530 like a mycelium which infiltrated every aspect of English life - and then re-wove itself through again and again creating a vast web of differing experiences, opinions and outcomes. It was the all and everything for the English people for almost 200 years, whether they participated religiously or not. In religious life it encompassed "English Catholics" with their highly latinised services, and Quakers who worshipped in words and silences only.

Henry VIII lived and died a Catholic, his break with Rome was a matter of convenience only. Whilst the establishment of the Church of England was hugely significant nationally and internationally, the average parishioner would have noticed very little difference in daily worship during Henry's reign. For the common people, the dissolution of the monasteries would have had a far greater impact on their lives, since these institutions helped the poor and sick and were paid to sing masses for the souls of the dead. (i-see below)

Henry VIII

Whilst Henry VIII did indeed break with Rome in 1530 and become Head of the Church of England via the Act of Supremacy in 1534; Henry he remained a Catholic, taking the last rites on his deathbed. Indeed, on 11 October 1521 Pope Leo X granted Henry and his descendants the title "Defender of the Faith" in recognition of Henry's book "Assertio Septem Sacramentorum" (Defense of the Seven Sacraments), which defended the sacramental nature of marriage and the supremacy of the pope in defence of the ideas of Martin Luther. (ii)

Music and Liturgy after the dissolution
Most parish churches had been endowed with chantries, each maintaining a stipended priest to say Mass for the souls of their donors, and these continued unaffected under Henry. In addition there remained over a hundred collegiate churches in England, whose endowments maintained regular choral worship through a body of canons, prebends or priests. All these survived the reign of Henry VIII largely intact, only to be dissolved under the Chantries Act 1547, by Henry's son Edward VI.

Edward, Mary and Elizabeth
After the death of Henry VIII in 1547, the new king Edward VI advanced the Reformation in England, introducing major changes to the liturgy of the Church of England. Thomas Cranmer had significantly greater freedom under Edward and in 1549, Cranmer's new Book of Common Prayer swept away the old Latin liturgy and replaced it with prayers in English. Church choirs began singing some songs in English, eg Westminster Abbey and St. Paul’s.  This brand new liturgy suddenly demanded that new music should be written for the church in English, and musicians of the Chapel Royal such as Thomas Tallis, John Sheppard, and Robert Parsons were called upon to demonstrate that the new Protestantism was no less splendid than the old Catholic religion. Some composers also began writing in a more chordal style because it was argued that the words were easier to hear and understand that way.

Music for Bank Holiday Stay at Home garden parties - and lots on Handel!

George Friderick Handel was born on 23 February 1685 in Halle, in Brandenburg-Prussia. He was a German (later naturalised British in 1727) Baroque composer who spent the bulk of his career in London. Handel is well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi and organ concertos.

"Handel received important training in Halle and worked as a composer in Hamburg and Italy before settling in London in 1712. Born the same year as Johann Sebastian Bach and Domenico Scarlatti, Handel is regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, with works such as Messiah, Water Music, and Music for the Royal Fireworks remaining steadfastly popular. " Wikipedia

Handel's "Water Music" is a collection of orchestral movements, often published as three suites, which premiered on 17 July 1717, in response to King George I's request for a concert on the River Thames. It is frequently played at garden parties in "high society" to this day, and would in my view by a wonderful accompaniment to any "Stay at Home" garden parties planned for this Friday as we celebrate VE day. VE Day is not, as the jingoistic press would have us believe, "Victory OVER Europe", but Victory IN Europe, by a massive combined effort from the Allies against the tyranny of Nazism. VE Day should celebrate - and represent - the success of partnership and working together for the common good, something not only worth celebrating from an historical perspective but extremely relevant today as we battle together to fight COVID-19. Born a German and naturalised as an Englishman, Handel epitomises the fluidity of nationality, the need to adapt and the focus on end results rather than isolation and protectionism.




Messiah - originally written to be performed at Easter
On Easter Sunday our choir would have sung the "Hallelujah Chorus" as our eucharist anthem.
The Hallelujah Chorus appears in the baroque oratorio “Messiah” composed in 1741.

J.S. Bach - Cantatas for Eastertide

Johann Sebastian Bach (March 1685 – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the Baroque period. He is known for instrumental compositions such as the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations, and for vocal music such as the St Matthew Passion and the Mass in B minor. Since the 19th-century Bach Revival he is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Below is a whistle-stop-tour of Bach Cantatas, of which I'm no expert! I've thoroughly enjoyed my research for this post however and have listened to some beautiful music in the process.

Cantatas
Cantata means "sung" or "to sing". It is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of church services are called church cantata or sacred cantata; other cantatas can be indicated as secular cantata. Several cantatas were, and still are, written for special occasions, such as Christmas cantatas.

The Bach Cantatas are a body of work consisting of over 200 surviving independent works, and at least several dozen that are considered lost. J. S. Bach composed cantatas for both secular and sacred use, his church cantatas composed for use in the Lutheran church, mainly intended for the occasions of the liturgical year.

Bach started composing cantatas around 1707, when he was still an organist in Arnstadt. Bach's early cantatas are "Choralkonzerte" (chorale concertos) in the style of the 17th century, different from the recitative and aria cantata format that he began to use for church cantatas in 1714 when in Weimar.
The texts for the early cantatas were drawn mostly from biblical passages and hymns. These early cantatas include 17th-century elements such as motets and chorale concertos. Recitatives and arias on contemporary poetry were not yet present, although Bach may have heard them in oratorios by Buxtehude who was his teacher, or even earlier.  His early cantatas often begin with an instrumental sinfonia or sonata. Bach worked at the ducal court in Weimar from 1708 to 1717 and from 1714-1717 he was commissioned to compose one church cantata a month. In the course of almost four years there he thus covered most occasions of the liturgical year. These cantatas have become known as the "Weimar Cycle".

Bach was appointed Thomaskantor, (director of music) in Leipzig 1723, and was responsible for the Thomasschule and the church music at these main churches. A cantata was required for the service on Sundays and additional church holidays of the liturgical year, and Bach composed many, preserved in five annual cycles. The Lutheran church of Bach's time prescribed the same readings every year, a Gospel passage and, recited before this, a corresponding section from an Epistle. A connection between the cantata text and the readings (or at least one of the prescribed hymns for the occasion) was the aim, facilitated by repetition and prescription with readings and hymns linked to the church cantata for each occasion.

A typical Bach cantata from his time in Leipzig follows the pattern below:

• Opening chorus 
• Recitative 
• Aria 
• Recitative (or Arioso) 
• Aria 
• Chorale

The opening chorus is usually a polyphonic setting, with the orchestra presenting the themes or contrasting material first. Most arias follow the form of a da capo aria, repeating the first part after a middle section. The final chorale is typically a homophonic setting of a traditional melody.

Eastertide
Eastertide is the period of 50 days, spanning from Easter Sunday to Pentecost Sunday, celebrated as one great event. Each Sunday of the season is treated as a Sunday of Easter. Following the Sunday of the Resurrection, they are named Second Sunday of Easter, Third Sunday of Easter, etc. up to the Seventh Sunday of Easter, concluding with Pentecost Sunday. Bach wrote cantatas each year for each of these Sundays whilst in Leipzig. Our girl choristers recorded "Den Tod niemand zwingen kunnt" (BWV 4) for the first Sunday after Easter, embedded below:-




Misericordias Domini 
This Sunday (26th April) is the Third Sunday of Easter, known as Misericordias Domini Sunday.

The gospel readings for Misericordias Domini is Luke 24:13-35 (Walk to Emmaus) and a suggested Bach Cantata for this reading is Cantata 66, "Erfreut euch, ihr Herzen" (Rejoice, you hearts)

Bach composed this cantata for the Second Day of Easter in Leipzig and first performed it on 10 April 1724. The cantata was Bach's first composition for Easter as Thomaskantor in Leipzig, first performed in Köthen on 10 December 1718. You can read more about it here and listen below! A translation is available here.



If you enjoyed reading this post, then you can read part 2 here!